*
The INS man sat uncomfortably at the turn the story of the former Grand Marshall and current Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces life seemed to take. Such private things were never meant to be known by those outside the pillars of ultimate galactic power.
The old man had stopped speaking and stared out towards the horizon of a fading day. Almost the end of a typical day on Yaga Minor.
"If Kaine knew that you knew..." he stared and the old man turned back to the other and chuckled lightly.
"If he knew where I was.." he amended and ordered another drink as if making a claim to stay a bit longer and tempt that very fate. The INS man suspiciously glanced to the left and right wondering if they had been overheard.
"You have a rare insight into a great man." the old man mocked. "It is always good to know on what foundation they lay their current actions and plans." he continued sagely.
"Well.." the INS man nervously accepted another round and tossed it back relishing the distraction the warmth that spread down his throat gave. "..obviously Kaine survived his... ordeal."
The old man's eyes narrowed craftily. "Did he?"
The INS man sat back, a shocked expression rocking him. The thoughts the old man stirred up were troubling. "Are you suggesting that the man who now calls himself Simon Kaine is not, in fact, the real Simon Kaine?"
The old man's lips spread into a slow grin. "Now there's a thought."
A staggering thought of monumental proportions!
The INS man looked up, feeling a hidden trap somewhere. "Why tell me? After all you've done, you know Kaine will destroy you on sight."
The old man sat back smiling. "Because it pleases me to tell the tale. It pleases me to give tidbits of an era left forgotten strangely enough. Information that cannot be found on any database. Actually, you'd be surprised what is not listed on the databases.
So many secrets.
So many skeletons.
So many..
And Kaine will not destroy me on sight." The smile turned into a laugh. "He'd slowly skin me alive."
"Why?" the INS man frowned. It'd be simpler to simply shoot the old man.
"Because.. Kaine knows the true meaning of power now. When one plays on the levels we do, it is not enough to simply remove your enemies. You have to demonstrate your complete domination of everything your enemies stand for.
Kaine has no greater enemy than I."
"Well.. I hear the Coalition's Regrad.."
"No one." the old man stated firmly.
"Regrad has never and probably will never see Kaine at the weakest condition possible to bring a human. Will never see him broken. All Regrad can do is kill him.
But even then, Kaine's legend... Kaine's dead hand.. call it what you will, will still be felt across this galaxy for decades to come."
"So you broke him?" the other asked.
The old man leaned back enjoying a memory. "No. I educated him." An eyebrow quirked up. "A man will cry when he finds no options open to him and the reality of his situation sinks in. That despair is a normal reaction. Hurt him further and that despair turns into anger in varying degrees. Hurt him further and that anger is redirected into hate. Hate towards the antagonist, hate towards himself and his own helplessness, hate at everything that led him to his current predictament."
The old man leaned forward, his eyes intensely searching the INS man's face for recognition. "Hurt him further and he moves beyond hatred. Overload. And suddenly, a man will feel nothing. You have pushed the heart out of the equation and a man's mind is suddenly open to be shaped into whatever precise killing machine you want."
"Kaine did not cooperate." the younger man concluded smugly.
"Not at the end. But it was expected. When you strip everything away, break the mind's mental machinery, a man in such a condition will either be a follower or a leader.
With his newfound love and 'goodness', I expected him to break and be reduced to nothing useful.
I discounted his feral childhood on Arcadia. Strip away the discipline of the mind and one finds out what one is truly made of."
"And what was Kaine made of?" the other asked, curious inspite of himself.
The old man's eyes closed.
"A simple vision." he whispered.
He began to chuckle.
"A murderously brilliant and simple vision."
~ End
The INS man sat uncomfortably at the turn the story of the former Grand Marshall and current Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces life seemed to take. Such private things were never meant to be known by those outside the pillars of ultimate galactic power.
The old man had stopped speaking and stared out towards the horizon of a fading day. Almost the end of a typical day on Yaga Minor.
"If Kaine knew that you knew..." he stared and the old man turned back to the other and chuckled lightly.
"If he knew where I was.." he amended and ordered another drink as if making a claim to stay a bit longer and tempt that very fate. The INS man suspiciously glanced to the left and right wondering if they had been overheard.
"You have a rare insight into a great man." the old man mocked. "It is always good to know on what foundation they lay their current actions and plans." he continued sagely.
"Well.." the INS man nervously accepted another round and tossed it back relishing the distraction the warmth that spread down his throat gave. "..obviously Kaine survived his... ordeal."
The old man's eyes narrowed craftily. "Did he?"
The INS man sat back, a shocked expression rocking him. The thoughts the old man stirred up were troubling. "Are you suggesting that the man who now calls himself Simon Kaine is not, in fact, the real Simon Kaine?"
The old man's lips spread into a slow grin. "Now there's a thought."
A staggering thought of monumental proportions!
The INS man looked up, feeling a hidden trap somewhere. "Why tell me? After all you've done, you know Kaine will destroy you on sight."
The old man sat back smiling. "Because it pleases me to tell the tale. It pleases me to give tidbits of an era left forgotten strangely enough. Information that cannot be found on any database. Actually, you'd be surprised what is not listed on the databases.
So many secrets.
So many skeletons.
So many..
And Kaine will not destroy me on sight." The smile turned into a laugh. "He'd slowly skin me alive."
"Why?" the INS man frowned. It'd be simpler to simply shoot the old man.
"Because.. Kaine knows the true meaning of power now. When one plays on the levels we do, it is not enough to simply remove your enemies. You have to demonstrate your complete domination of everything your enemies stand for.
Kaine has no greater enemy than I."
"Well.. I hear the Coalition's Regrad.."
"No one." the old man stated firmly.
"Regrad has never and probably will never see Kaine at the weakest condition possible to bring a human. Will never see him broken. All Regrad can do is kill him.
But even then, Kaine's legend... Kaine's dead hand.. call it what you will, will still be felt across this galaxy for decades to come."
"So you broke him?" the other asked.
The old man leaned back enjoying a memory. "No. I educated him." An eyebrow quirked up. "A man will cry when he finds no options open to him and the reality of his situation sinks in. That despair is a normal reaction. Hurt him further and that despair turns into anger in varying degrees. Hurt him further and that anger is redirected into hate. Hate towards the antagonist, hate towards himself and his own helplessness, hate at everything that led him to his current predictament."
The old man leaned forward, his eyes intensely searching the INS man's face for recognition. "Hurt him further and he moves beyond hatred. Overload. And suddenly, a man will feel nothing. You have pushed the heart out of the equation and a man's mind is suddenly open to be shaped into whatever precise killing machine you want."
"Kaine did not cooperate." the younger man concluded smugly.
"Not at the end. But it was expected. When you strip everything away, break the mind's mental machinery, a man in such a condition will either be a follower or a leader.
With his newfound love and 'goodness', I expected him to break and be reduced to nothing useful.
I discounted his feral childhood on Arcadia. Strip away the discipline of the mind and one finds out what one is truly made of."
"And what was Kaine made of?" the other asked, curious inspite of himself.
The old man's eyes closed.
"A simple vision." he whispered.
He began to chuckle.
"A murderously brilliant and simple vision."
~ End